Tag: Independent Freight INtl

A young Fort Worth architecture firm is about to put its design mark on the city.

Soon, Matthijs and Jie Melchiors, partners and founders of MEL/ARCH studio, will start construction on a three-story office building made entirely of shipping containers. In all, 40 containers of various colors will be used. It’s expected to be completed in October.

In all, the building will have space for 30 businesses. There will also be a break room, restrooms and common areas.

The building will be 15,000 square feet, with each office about 160 square feet. The containers are 8 feet by 20 feet, but they are 12 inches taller than the typical container size.

The building will have solar panels on the roof and tree sculptures on an outdoor deck that are really wind turbines that will generate supplemental power to the building.

In brief, the SOLAS Rules from the IMO state that, effective July 1 2016, ocean freight carriers worldwide will be prohibited from loading a container aboard vessels in 162 countries worldwide unless the shipper has provided the carrier with the verified gross mass (VGM) of the container. The VGM must be provided to the carrier either digitally or signed and noted on the bill of lading prior to vessel loading.

How is the new SOLAS Rule being implemented for US export shipments with effect from July 1 2016?

With a few exceptions, as it stands today the standard rules as published by the shipping lines require their receipt from the shipper of a certified VGM prior to the container arriving in to port for onward shipment, otherwise cost may be incurred for delay and/or port handling. Currently the VGM should be determined using either Method 1 or 2 as per our previous message on the subject and remains the responsibility of the shipper as per the B/L.

What, if anything, has changed ?

With just days before the SOLAS container weight rule takes effect, ports, marine terminals and container lines are coming closer to creating a system that will use pre-existing weighing processes to alleviate the burden on U.S. exporters. Regulators have given the go-ahead that allows a group of six East and Gulf coast ports and 19 ocean carriers to develop a common strategy for using existing weighing processes that satisfy federal regulations to meet the new international rule, and with multiple shipping lines backing the approach and the head of the Federal Maritime Commission urging the industry to embrace the same path, more announcements from terminals and carriers are expected before the rule takes effect on Friday.
In fact, a number of shipping lines have today confirmed that they will receive the certified scaled weight electronically from the terminal, and this will be used as the VGM.

As a shipper, do I still need to ensure that a VGM is correctly submitted on my behalf ?

Yes, until we have clear confirmation otherwise – the new rule’s rollout is just days away, but guidance from operating ports, carriers, terminal operators and nation states has been variable and prone to change with little or no notice.

What happens next ?

We believe that the process, standards and responsibilities for the implementation for the VGM rule under SOLAS rule will become less arduous to the commercial shipper over the next few days, weeks and months but would recommend close compliance with current methodology in the meantime until such time as any new regulations are finalised.We will continue to keep you updated on developments, and please be assured that we will work with everyone on a case by case basis to ensure that shipments are in compliance with the new rulings, and avoid unnecessary cost or delay on export.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to let us know if we can help in any way !

A return to normality will take time

The good news is that the ILWU Labour Union and the port management association PMA announced a deal which will end the slowdown at West Coast Ports.

A few months after the last contract expired in July, activity at the ports began to dramatically slow and the situation continued to deteriorate between the parties, including a temporary suspension of vessel operations over President’s Day weekend.

Trade experts said that it could be months before ports were operating at their normal pace. “There will be significant backlogs to clear, and everyone has a part to help restore confidence that the West Coast and the United States are open for business,” said Jay Timmons, President and CEO of the National Assn. of Manufacturers.

Even before the union was accused of slowing operations in November, the ports had struggled with delays for months. A truck trailer shortage and the increased reliance on massive container vessels contributed to the worst freight backlog in a decade at the San Pedro ports. At the Los Angeles port, a single ship now often carries 14,000 containers. Two years ago, a large ship would have held 8,000 to 10,000 of the steel boxes.

But for now, the anxiety that has shrouded the Southland seems to be lifting. For the first time since the employer group began cutting evening and late-night hours in early January, full shifts are expected to resume at the docks this weekend.

Unfortunately, the combination of the slow down in the West Coast ports together with the severe weather on the East Coast has caused a severe shortage of container equipment throughout the USA and reduced space availability on outbound vessels for export from the US, particularly for shipments to destinations on the Pacific trade lanes.

We are also expecting increased strain on rail and haulage resources as delayed inbound containers are released back in to the system.

For the second consecutive year, the INDEX and workspace at INDEX exhibitions ran alongside each other at the Dubai World Trade Centre, 19-22 May 2014. With a combined history of 37 years in the marketplace, INDEX and workspace at INDEX form the MENA region’s largest and most attended business-to-business platform for architecture and design professionals seeking to source interior design products and services for their residential, retail, hospitality, commercial, education, and healthcare projects.

Both shows achieved a number of key successes this year, with INDEX achieving a 25% increase in the size of the exhibition, and workspace at INDEX achieving at 116% increase in the total number of attendees – statistics that clearly illustrate the healthy nature of the region’s booming interiors and fit-out industries.

With the number of construction projects in the GCC due to complete in 2014 set to top US$128 billion (a 92% increase on 2013 completions), the level of sales generated as a result of exhibiting at this year’s shows also increased – INDEX reported a 34% increase in the value of orders made and workspace at INDEX reported a 140% increase in the value of orders placed.

The detailed Post Show Report for the 2014 show is now available for download from our website here, and illustrates in detail the key statistics and success measures for INDEX and workspace at INDEX 2014.

All statistics regarding visitor and exhibitor profiling have been taken from either the 2014 visitor survey or from the final attendance registration reports – both of which are compiled by independent companies.

TOTAL ATTENDANCE WORKSPACE AT INDEX 2014

TradeVisitor

6,757

VIP

2,289

PublicVisitor

18

Press

48

Student

41

TOTALUNIQUEVISITORS

9,153

Revisits

3,239

TOTALVISITORATTENDANCE

12,392

ExhibitorAttendance

838

TOTALEXHIBITIONATTENDANCE

13,230

Comments Off on INDEX Dubai Post Show Report now availableposted in: News

Thank you to all of the exhibitors and attendees who made the 2014 Dubai show such a success ! With a record number of exhibitors, visited by a record number of attendees, the Campus at INDEX Dubai 2014 reluctantly closed its doors after its most successful year to date.

We look forward to doing it all again in 2015 and in the meantime are pleased to bring you some images from this year’s show.

Please keep checking back as we will be publishing more as they become available !

Comments Off on Images from The Campus at workspace at INDEX Dubai 2014posted in: News